


Abnormality

by Singing_Cheshire



Category: Assassin's Creed
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Connor's touch phobia, Cool hybrids, Gen, Jacob and Evie roll their eyes at each other constantly, Minerva is a human here, Psh siblings, ayy better summary waddup, how do i do the do, is this too many character tags, thats the real question
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-30
Updated: 2017-09-19
Packaged: 2018-05-17 04:26:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5854162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Singing_Cheshire/pseuds/Singing_Cheshire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Whether we're in a hospital, underground, incognito, or whatever else," she shakes her head.</p><p>"Now we can never be safe."</p><p>- </p><p>It's an unfortunate fact of life; if you're born Abnormal, you're either killed or live out the rest of your life constantly on the run from the Hunters. But maybe it's time to change that. Maybe it's time to break the cycle.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This first chapter is a bit rushed. It's mainly because I have problems with starting off stories. The other chapters definitely won't be as sloppy as this one, though.
> 
> Also, Connor is 14 while the others are all 16. Shay, Haytham, and Edward are, obviously, the adults.

Desmond sighs, probably too loudly. He needs to wake up for his first day at a new school, but he really doesn't want to. He only does when his dad knocks on the door and snaps at him to hurry up and get ready. He rolls out of bed and lazily walks into the bathroom.

'Civ's School for the Intellectually Advanced'.

Desmond scoffs to himself as he starts the shower. He has no idea how exactly his dad decided he was smart enough to go to a school for the 'intellectually advanced'. Though, only certain people can get in, so he feels quite proud of himself.

As he steps out of the shower and begins to dress, he glances at the photograph he taped to the mirror a few months ago. It's of his mother, a bright-eyed woman. She's travelling around the world setting up multiple stores for the business she works for.

Desmond worries for her safety; there's a large group of people called 'abnormals' or, if you want to put it bluntly, 'monsters'. His mother is a phoenix, but of the shifter type. She prefers to shapeshift into her human form and stay that way. Because of this, Desmond himself is a phoenix-human hybrid.

He wouldn't worry, if it wasn't for the fact that a lot of people hate abnormals, and like to hunt them down and kill them.

Desmond is pulled out of his thoughts when his dad yells at him to hurry up. He races downstairs and grabs his sandwich off the table, then runs out of the house, climbing into the passenger seat of the car.

William shakes his head in disapproval, starting the engine. As he backs out of the driveway, he apparently feels the need to say, "Remember, Desmond. Don't get-"

"Angry." Desmond interrupts, rolling his eyes and taking a bite of his sandwich. "Dad, I know. I've been working on handling my problems for a while now."

"Well, if you get made fun of and lose your cool, don't come to me asking for help."

"Asking for your help has never worked before."

The bitter look on William's face is so satisfying it's almost hilarious.

~~o~~

Altaïr stumbles as Malik shoves him out the door. Grumbling, he starts walking. The Al-Sayfs are a nice family, but he would give anything to be with his father again. Being curled up against his side as they watched TV had been the best thing in the world when he was a kid, but it was gone. His father killed.

He sighs sadly, shaking his head to clear it of those thoughts. He reads the directions on his phone as he walks, squinting against the bright light. "Hey, kid," a hushed voice says. Altaïr stops, turning his head. A man is standing there, glancing around warily. "Kid, you got any weed on you?"

"No." Altaïr says simply. "I don't."

The man groans. "Well, kid, if you ever get any, call me." He holds out a slip of paper. "Name's Uberto, by the way."

Altaïr stares at the paper, then walks away without taking it or even saying anything. He manages to walk a bit further before a kid's voice calls out playfully, "Halt! Intruder!"

He ducks as a water balloon flies through the air, aiming straight for his face. He stuffs his phone in his shirt and turns invisible before racing off. He's really not in the mood to deal with anyone, especially not anyone in this weird neighborhood.

He breathes a sigh of relief as he makes it to Civ's School for the Intellectually Advanced. He turns visible and then heads towards the doors.

~~o~~

"No, Ezio."

"Please, Claudia?"

"No, Ezio."

"Please?"

"I said _no._ "

" _Please?_ "

" _No!_ "

Giovanni steps out of his office, looking vaguely annoyed. "What are you two arguing about?"

Ezio points at Claudia. "She won't shift into a puppy for me!"

Giovanni laughs loudly. "Ezio, leave your sister alone. Besides, you two have to get to school in a minute."

He sighs melodramaticly. "Fine." Once his father is back in his office, Ezio turns back to his sister. "...Please?"

"Ezio, I am going to wring your-"

His mother interrupts, "Okay, okay, you two. In the car."

Sitting next to Claudia in the car, Ezio turns to ask once again, "Please?"

" _EZIO!_ "

He quickly shapeshifts into a fly to avoid her hand as she attempts to slap him. "You two," his mother says, a warning edge to her voice. "Stop that."

Claudia grumbles, crossing her arms. Ezio shifts back to normal, staring out the window. "How long until we get there?"

"Not long."

~~o~~

"Aveline, get out of the fountain, please." Madeleine's voice sounds tired and annoyed this morning, but Aveline doesn't really care. She just stays sprawled in the fountain, her clothes drenched.

She makes a noise of protest as Madeleine grabs her arm gently and pulls her out of the fountain. Her stepmother groans. "Aveline, you're soaked! We have to leave now! Oh, why couldn't you have just waited until later?"

Aveline grins. "Well, it takes a long time to take off wet clothes. Let's just go. Don't want to be late, do we?"

Madeleine gives her a disapproving look, shaking her head as she starts to usher her stepdaughter over to the cherry red car. "What ever am I going to do with you?"

Before Aveline can sit in the passenger seat, her stepmother grabs her arm again. "Nuh-uh. You're going to have to sit in the backseat."

Aveline just shrugs, sliding into the backseat. "Madeleine?" She asks as they start to back out of the driveway.

"Yes?"

"How is my father doing?"

"Not good, as much as I hate to say it."

"Oh...Can we visit him in the hospital after school?"

"I...suppose so."

"Thank you, Madeleine!"

"Sure..." There's something in her voice that Aveline finds odd, but she can't place it.

~~o~~

Connor sits on the couch watching his grandfather search around for something. "What are you looking for?"

"My seal skin," Edward replies. "Because, as you know, lad, a selkie needs to keep their skin with them."

Connor tilts his head. "I thought you put it in that briefcase?"

Edward claps his hands together, grabbing his briefcase and opening it to check. "Phew! Thanks, lad! Don't know what I'd do without you." He ruffles Connor's hair, earning a smile.

That's when his father, Haytham, walks into the room and the smile drops from Connor's face completely. Not wanting to acknowledge him, he instead turns to Edward. "So, didn't you say that one of the other teachers is a kelpie?"

Edward nods. "Yeah, that's him."

"Aren't kelpies...dangerous?"

"Oh, yes. But Shay isn't. We've known each other since we were younger than you. He wouldn't harm a fly."

"You're sure?"

"Positive! You don't need to worry. Your father and I are going to be there, anyway. We'll protect you."

Haytham clears his throat. "I hate to interrupt, but we really need to go now. Uh, Connor, I shouldn't have to say this, but just so you know, you're the only kid who knows that the school is actually for abnormals, so please don't shift into your fox form or anything."

"It's a maned wolf, father."

Haytham shakes his head. "It doesn't matter. Just don't shift, got it?"

Connor shrugs. "Okay."

"Thank you. Now, come on, we have to go."

~~o~~

"Damn it! Jacob!"

Jacob looks up from his phone. "Yes, Evie?"

She's peeking out from behind the bathroom door. "Do you have the sunscreen with you?" Jacob nods, picking it up and throwing it at her. She catches it easily. "Thanks!"

Evie covers herself completely in sunscreen, then throws on her clothes. She quickly puts her hair in a messy braid, having no time to put it up in her normal halo braid. She checks in the mirror to make sure her fangs aren't showing, when Jacob calls, "Get your vampire ass out here, Evie!"

She rolls her eyes, slipping out of the bathroom. "Ready to go, wererook?"

"Have you even eaten yet, sister?" She's silent for a minute, then shakes her head. Jacob scoffs. "Then get something to eat on the way there. I don't want you to die."

She chuckles, opening the fridge and grabbing the apple that's the darkest shade of red. Taking a bite, she turns back to Jacob. "Okay, let's go," she mumbles around a full mouth.

Her brother grins, opening the front door. "After you. Bye, Dad!"

Their dad shouts back "Bye!" as they close the front door. Evie swallows the bite she took, looking up. "Damn, it's raining. You don't think it will wash my sunscreen off, do you?"

"I hope not," Jacob responds. "Because then they'll be making a headstone for you earlier than I'd like. Anyway, I packed more. Don't worry."

They start walking, and soon the air is filled with shouts as Evie tries to snatch her apple back from her twin.


	2. Chapter 2

It's been a week since Desmond's started going to the new school. There had been a few times when he had gotten so mad that the tiniest spark of a fire flickered on his pants and he had to calm down quickly to prevent his clothes from bursting into flames.

It's Saturday now, and Desmond has woken up way too early (he really shouldn't be awake at 4AM). So, he just stays in bed, watching YouTube on his phone and thinking about the people he's seen around school so far. He's never met anyone, he just prefers to watch people.

He puts down his phone, his eyes heavy again. As soon as he starts to drift off to sleep, he's wide awake again, stomach churning. Something is _wrong_. He doesn't know what, but judging by how nauseous he suddenly feels, something is most definitely wrong. The sick feeling is almost like some sort of anticipation.

Gripping his stomach, he races to the bathroom and promptly vomits all over the tile.

After Desmond's cleaned up the floor, he curls back up in bed, his stomach still churning like crazy. Unable to fall asleep, he gets to his feet, pulling on his clothes. He quietly sneaks down the stairs, careful not to alert his father to his presence, and grabs a flashlight. Although it's still dark outside, he feels like a walk will help. He zips up his jacket and ties his shoelaces, then slips out of the house, shutting the door quietly behind him.

Desmond switches on his flashlight and starts walking. The nervous feeling in his stomach is gone, but less than thirty minutes into the walk, it returns. He hears a rustling to his side and stops in his tracks, pointing the flashlight at the spot he heard the noise. The light lands on a shadowy figure that disappears a split second later. At first he just thinks that he was imagining things, but the feeling in his stomach only gets worse, and the voice in the back of his mind screams at him to run.

So he does.

Desmond runs as fast as he can, pushing himself to the limit as he hears not one, but four pairs of running footsteps chasing after him. There's no way to run back to the house right now, other than going the direction he came from. He doesn't know where to go, and the only idea that keeps flashing in his mind is to just run to the school.

He notices a bike in someone's driveway and practically launches himself on to it. Muttering an apology under his breath to whoever owns it, he starts pedaling, determined to get to the school. The sound of the footsteps behind him disappears and he sighs in relief, but doesn't risk stopping. He knows that nobody is going to be at the school, but at least he'll have a place to hide.

Desmond reaches the school and jumps off the stolen bike. The school itself is surrounded by a fence. There's no way he can somehow break through the gate, so he climbs over the fence. As soon as he drops to the ground, he is instantly aware of someone else's flashlight above his head. He looks up, a glare on his face. Although he is still scared, he's really pissed off, flames dancing on his clothes.

They die down immediately, though, when he realizes that the man above him is one of the teachers, Shay Cormac. He's in casual clothing, and behind him Desmond can see two other teachers. Shay reaches down to help Desmond to his feet.

He looks extremely grim. "The Hunters were after you, weren't they?" Desmond nods slowly, knowing there's no use in lying.

"I...think so," he mumbles.

Shay sighs. "Well, this is the night we've been waiting for. Come inside, Miles."

~~o~~

Altaïr jolts awake as Mrs. Al-Sayf shakes him. "Pack your bags, Altaïr."

Altaïr looks up at her in confusion. "You're kicking me out?"

She shakes her head. "No, no, sorry, I'll explain in the car. Malik and Kadar have already started packing for you and I'm helping. Get up. We have to pack quickly."

"It's four-seventeen in the morning." He protests. "Besides, why can't you just tell me now?"

"Listen, Altaïr, it's an emergency. Like, a real emergency. With Hunters. I know how you are about organization, but just shove in every single thing. Every. Single. Thing."

Although he doesn't understand, Altaïr listens to her and literally throws everything he has into suitcases. He hardly has anything, though, so they're done by 4:30.

They all climb into the car and Malik's father Faheem drives off almost before Altaïr can shut the door. "Now," he starts, "can someone explain to me what's going on?"

Faheem sighs. "Altaïr, your school isn't actually a school for the intellectually advanced. If this world was good, it would be called Civ's School for the Abnormal. Abnormals are still intellectually advanced, so it's not like it's lying, but anyway, anyway. They have an emergency called Code Dark Red. The address of one student has somehow gotten into the hands of the Hunters, which means there is a large risk for anyone. From what it sounds like, all of the children are being dropped off and are going to be relocated, including you. All the students are going to have to be separated from their families.

"They are all going to be on the run from the Hunters now."

Altaïr doesn't respond, letting that information sink in.

~~o~~

"CODE DARK RED!" Giovanni shouts, waking up everybody in the house. "I REPEAT! CODE DARK RED! GRAB YOUR BAGS! PACK THEM! HURRY, HURRY, HURRY!"

Ezio wastes no time flying out of bed and shoving everything into his suitcase. He looks at the clock: 4:17AM. They have always been taught that Code Dark Red meant there was a Hunter emergency, and he was already very nervous about the whole situation.

He packs as fast as he can, then has Petruccio sit on the suitcase while he zips it up. He scans the room one last time to make sure that he hasn't forgotten anything, then gets Federico to help him carry his suitcases down the stairs.

"Four forty-six!" Giovanni announces. "Is that everyone? Maria, Federico, Ezio, Claudia, Petruccio, ookay, out the door! In the car! Move, move, move!"

Once they are in the car, Maria and Giovanni start talking to each other in the front seat. In a hushed voice, Petruccio asks his siblings, "Do you think we will be separated?"

Ezio frowns. "I think we will be, little brother."

They are silent for the rest of the drive. Ezio is confused when he realizes they've arrived at the school, but his mother quickly says it's actually an abnormal "safe house". He doesn't get any more information, though. In the cafeteria, Petruccio stays with Maria and Giovanni, Claudia goes to chat with her friends, and Federico goes to talk with his friends as well.

Ezio is about to join his brother when he notices three people he's never met before. Smiling broadly, he walks up to them.

~~o~~

Aveline slowly lowers herself in to the cold bath water, still fully clothed. She grabs her phone from the floor and starts texting her childhood friend, Connor. He's wide awake and staying at the school with his dad and grandfather to watch out for Hunters.

He's already told her that the school is secretly a safe place for abnormals. She's promised not to tell anyone, and she's kept that secret well.

The bathroom door flies open, and her stepmother stomps in. Aveline stares at her, setting her phone back on the floor. "Madeleine? What are you doing awake?"

Madeline snorts. "I could ask you the same question. Can you get out of the tub, please?" An eyebrow raised, Aveline climbs out of the bathtub.

"Is everything alright?"

"Join me. Us."

Aveline blinks. "Come again?" Then, out of nowhere, a sharp pain explodes in her temple. The surrounding areas are washed in a dark blue, except for Madeleine, who is an extraordinarily bright red. As quickly as it started, it disappears.

Madeleine steps forward. "The Hunters, Aveline. You may be an abnormal, but you can still be a Hunter of others."

Now she understands the red. Aveline stares. "No!"

Her stepmother sighs. "That's very unfortunate, then." Her mouth opens, and the house is filled with the sounds of an eerie, high-pitched, wailing song.

Siren.

Aveline barely manages to push against the effects of the song. Struggling slightly, she slams her fist against Madeleine's throat, knocking her over and interrupting the song. She grabs her phone and races down the stairs, leaving her winded stepmother behind.

She flings open the front door, charging out of it as quickly as possible. The cool air against her wet clothes makes her shiver, but she keeps running. Keeping herself from tripping, she texts Connor.

_What just happened?_

~~o~~

They've set up tables like barricades in the cafeteria. Connor is bringing blankets to every student that has showed up so far, because it's freaking cold in there. The owner of the school, Minerva Civ, is pacing back and forth, a tense and nervous expression on her face. She stops to speak with teachers and parents, then resumes pacing.

Connor checks his watch: 4:52.

He brings the next blanket to a boy that he recognizes as the one who had climbed over the fence. He offers the blanket, and the boy takes it without saying anything. Noting he doesn't have any more blankets to pass around, he sits next to the boy. "Hello," he mumbles rather timidly.

The other looks at him skeptically. "Hi."

Before Connor can say anything, a man walks up to the boy, holding a small suitcase. "Here." the man says. The boy takes it, giving his father a bitter look as he walks away.

The boy turns back to Connor. "Sorry for him interrupting. Did you want to say something?"

Connor nods. "I was, uh, out front. You're the boy who climbed over the fence, right? Because, uh, that fire was pretty cool."

The boy chuckles. "Thanks. It happens when I'm angry. Name's Desmond."

"Connor. Can I ask what kind of abnormal are you?"

"Phoenix-human hybrid. You?"

"I'm part maned wolf shifter."

"That's cool."

Connor tilts his head. "I...guess? Oh, hi, Aveline."

The girl he's known since they were children smiles at him, her clothes (of course) dripping wet. "Hi, Connor."

"So...why is it even called Code Dark Red instead of just Red?" Desmond asks.

Connor shrugs. Somebody behind Aveline clears their throat, prompting the girl to spin around. The boy grins. "I was just wondering if anybody knows when we are going to be 'relocated'?"

Aveline and Desmond shrug, so Connor sighs and answers. "As soon as everybody is present."

" _Grazie._ I'm Ezio." The boy holds out his hand. Connor stares at it, but doesn't shake it.

Aveline smiles. "Nice to meet you. I'm Aveline and this is Connor."

Ezio turns to Desmond. "And you?"

"Desmond."

Ezio grins wider. "Then, it is nice to meet all of you."

~~o~~

Evie sleepily plucks at the strings of her ukulele while Jacob braids her hair. Their father had just woken them up from a dead sleep and told them to get dressed and ready to leave while he packs their bags. They have zero idea what's going on, but it's best not to argue with him.

"What are you humming?" Jacob asks. "Sounds familiar."

"Somewhere Over the Rainbow," Evie mumbles, stifling a yawn.

Jacob snorts. "Well, you sure are hitting a lot of sour notes with that instrument."

"Don't pretend like you don't hit bad notes with your violin."

He pauses, his hands momentarily stopping. "Um...I don't have a violin..."

"I found the case." Jacob mentally scolds himself. He could've sworn he had hidden it good enough. He flicks her cheek.

"Dammit, Evie. Don't tell _anyone._ "

Evie laughs, thought it's interrupted by a yawn. Jacob finishes the braid and twists it into a bun, securing it with a black ribbon. Trying not to fall asleep, she turns to Jacob. "Remember when I was playing my bass and you shouted, 'drop the bass'?"

"Yep. You dropped it and it almost broke."

"Hey...where did you even get your violin, anyway?"

Jacob bites his lip. "It...used to be Mother's."

"Oh." Evie mumbles, going silent. That's when their father comes down the stairs, holding their bags.

"Evie, grab your umbrella and sun hat. Both of you get in the car. Evie, you'll have to hold your bass in the car. I'll give you an explanation, just wait until we get in the car. Move!"

~~o~~

"Okay," Minerva says loudly, silencing everyone in the cafeteria. "Now that all are present and have been given a proper explanation of what this school really is, it's time to proceed. Parents will be moved to an underground abnormal stronghold, where we will plot an attack on the Hunters. Groups of three teachers each will be assigned multiple students. Keep yourselves safe. Keep your companions safe. Got it? We have little time, so we have to move quickly.

"The first group will be Shay Patrick Cormac, Edward Kenway, and Haytham Kenway. Your assigned students are Desmond Miles, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, Ezio Auditore, Aveline de Grandpré, Connor Kenway, and Jacob and Evie Frye."

Desmond stands up, awkwardly shuffling over to the teachers with his suitcase. Altaïr sighs, leaving his secluded corner and making his way towards the teachers. Ezio jumps to his feet, joining the two that are already there. Aveline, slipping slightly on her bare feet, marches over, smiling at the others.

Connor rolls his eyes. Of _course_ he's stuck with his father. He's been expecting it, but it still sucks. At least his grandfather's awesome, and Shay's pretty great, too. Hopefully the other students are decent.

Jacob offers to carry his sister's sun hat and umbrella, while she carries her bass and ukulele. They drag over their suitcases.

Shay smiles at them. "Haytham will be the one driving the car with the luggage in it-"

"Because he hates kids," Edward interrupts. Haytham rolls his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Shay sighs. "Edward, just...just don't." He turns back to the students. "Anyway, so all your luggage will be going into his car. You guys will be driving with me and Edward. Now, let's go!"

They load their luggage into Haytham's car, but Evie keeps her umbrella with her. Shay's car has multiple rows of seats. As they all start climbing in, Jacob notices Aveline and Evie glancing at each other, then purposefully sitting as far away from each other as possible.

Jacob sits next to Evie as Edward closes the car doors then climbs into the passenger seat.

"Alright, everyone," Shay says. "Time to leave."


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey."

Edward turns his head at the sound of the whisper. The teenagers behind him are fast asleep, except for Desmond. "Yes?"

Desmond sighs. "Where are we going anyway?"

"My daughter Jenny's house, just until we have to move again."

"You have a daughter?"

Edward nods. "Yeah. She's Haytham's half-sister." Desmond turns back to the window again, starting to nod off. Edward checks the time on his phone: 5:22.

He looks at the teenagers again, humming softy. "It's too quiet in here," he whispers.

Shay gives him a look from where's he driving. "No, Edward."

Ignoring Shay, Edward plugs his phone charger into the stereo. Then, without any hesitation, he blasts Footloose at maximum volume. The others wake up abruptly, crying out. Unable to help himself, Edward laughs loudly as Shay turns down the stereo volume.

"What was that?" Ezio exclaims, scowling.

"Edward being a jerk," Shay answers, his eyes still trained on the road. Evie groans.

"Come on, Edward," Connor grumbles. "Just let us sleep."

"Never!" Edward protests. "If Shay and I aren't allowed to sleep, you can't either!"

"That's not fair!" Jacob whines.

"Too bad."

"But-"

"Nope."

Shay chuckles. "Are you guys hungry?" He asks as Edward restarts the song and turns the volume back up.

"I think we all are," Altaïr responds, "but do you even have food we would like?" Edward frowns; the boy looks even more irritated than he does around school.

Shay smiles. "Lucky for you, the lunch ladies packed your food for the drive before we left. Edward, get them out, will you?"

Edward groans theatrically. "Fiiiiine." He reaches into the bag, pulling out the plastic containers. He passes them back.

"Is that seaweed?" Altaïr asks Aveline, eyebrow raised.

"Yes," she answers, "and it is delicious."

"That's a weird breakfast food."

"You're a weird breakfast food."

"...What?"

Edward smiles. Even though teenagers aren't his favorite, so far they seem to be getting along alright. This might turn out much easier than he thought at first.

~~o~~

Shay is tired and bored and annoyed. He doesn't want to talk right now; he's just too stressed. So, he decides on just listening to the others for now.

Shay had been born as a kelpie. He had been taught and raised to lure humans into the ocean in order to eat them, but he had never wanted to do it. He likes the life he's made for himself now. Others could disagree, but the feeling of being an abnormal in an ordinary world is a special feeling. Sure, there's always the risk of being killed, but if you're careful enough, you can do whatever you want like a normal person, without being caught.

He's pulled out of his thoughts abruptly when he realizes there's a deer in the middle of the street, staring at the car. He gasps, slamming his foot down on the brake and throwing everyone forward as the deer races away.

Edward's head slams against the dashboard. Desmond hits the back of Shay's seat and Altaïr's seat belt (somehow) comes undone. Ezio slams his palms on the back of Edward's seat to keep himself from getting hurt. Aveline's head hits the window as Connor's fist accidentally hits Jacob square in the face, causing him to slam against Evie, their heads knocking together.

Shay's own forehead hits the steering wheel and he bites his tongue so hard his teeth cut through it. He sits up straight almost immediately and looks into the rearview mirror, more than grateful that Haytham's car hadn't even come close to crashing into his.

Edward is rubbing his head, his face screwed up in pain. Shay looks behind him to make sure everyone is alright. They're all just mainly rubbing their heads, bruises forming quickly. Ezio seems to have sprained his wrists, and Shay's pretty sure that a tooth got knocked out of Evie's mouth. He's most concerned about Altaïr, due to the seat belt being stupid.

In just another second, Haytham is knocking on the window. Shay rolls it down. "Yes?"

Haytham has that 'I'm about to lecture you' look on his face. "What just happened?"

"There was a deer in the road," Shay answers, ignoring the metallic taste pooling in his mouth.

Haytham rolls his eyes. "Shay, you have blood all over your chin."

"Bit through my tongue."

Haytham scoffs, then turns and walks back to his car. Making sure Altaïr's seat belt is buckled again, Shay starts driving again. "Five minutes until we get to Jenny's," he announces.

~~o~~

Haytham is already dreading the day as soon as they pull into his half-sister's driveway. He gets out of his car and opens the doors and trunk so that the kids can get their luggage. He walks to the front door of the cream colored house, ringing the doorbell multiple times in a specific melody to let her know it was him and not somebody else.

After a few seconds, he hears the locks click, and the door opens. Jenny looks at him with distaste, her hair in a ponytail. She gives him a curt nod. "Haytham."

"Jenny."

She brushes past him, making sure to lightly push him out of the way. Haytham turns on his flashlight to guide the kids to the door so they don't trip in the darkness. Stepping into Jenny's house is pretty much entering a memory from his childhood. When he and his father had moved out of this house, Jenny had stayed and kept it. He had expected it to be way different than he remembered, but it's still the same.

The house smells like sugar cookies baking in the oven, mingling with the aroma of cherry-scented candles. The nymph statue that his father's had since before Haytham was even born is still on the mantel above the fireplace. A poorly painted picture that he and Jenny had made when they were little is still on the wall, along with the pencil markings that Edward had drawn on to show their heights as they grew each year. She's left a few of the candy wrappers that they'd taped to the side of the bookshelf, and hasn't even bothered to take down the framed pictures that Edward (regretfully) left behind.

There are still the differences, of course. Paint is no longer peeling from the walls. She's replaced the worn, brown leather furniture with white, fluffy ones instead. There's a flat screen TV, and a rather elegant circular white rug.

Haytham notices food and water bowls for a pet (or pets) in the corner and vaguely wonders if she actually has any. He glances at her. She's in the kitchen, putting gauze in Evie's mouth. "She's done an excellent job of taking care of the old place," he mumbles to himself, under his breath.

That's when his gaze lands on something else: a cardboard box by the coat closet, marked Sentimental.

Making sure that she's still in the kitchen, Haytham walks over to the box. The first few things he sees are obviously what would be sentimental to Jenny; an empty tube of chapstick that was the last thing her mother Caroline had ever bought for her, her favorite glass Christmas ornament from when she was little, the ribbon she had used to tie her hair by herself for the first time ever, her favorite VHS tape, and the plush dachshund she had adored, complete with the stitches from all the times it had ripped.

Then there are things that Haytham, genuinely shocked, never expected she would consider sentimental, not after what happened between them.

Haytham's sea foam green baby blanket, faded from age. The candle that Edward had gotten her such a long time ago, in the shape of a beautifully sculpted seal - it has obviously been used since they left, considering that the wick is completely gone. Haytham's Lord of the Rings book that he had left behind, the CD that Edward had given her of all his favorite sea shanties, even the book about Dungeons and Dragons Haytham gave her, and all their old board games.

That's when Haytham sees yet another thing he isn't expecting.

It's an envelope, one that's been opened before. His eyes widen; the neat, cursive handwriting on it is his. He realizes that the only letter he's ever sent to her is the one he wrote when he found out about Connor. It's slightly yellowed from age, which is no surprise, but...She had really kept that? For _nine_ _years?_ She had never sent any reply to it. Haytham had just assumed that it got lost in the mail or that she had ignored it, so he never thought to send another one.

But here it is, apparently precious enough for her to keep in a box of sentimental items for nine years.

Haytham moves away from the box when Jenny comes out of the kitchen. He's clearly not supposed to see the box, because she pushes it into the coat closet.

She turns and walks over to him. "So...what kind of abnormals are they?"

Haytham turns his head to look at the teenagers who are all obviously still awkward and uncomfortable, though Shay and Edward are talking to them, so it might not be too bad. "Desmond's part phoenix, Ezio's a shapeshifter, Aveline is an undine - we aren't quite sure what kind yet, Connor's a maned wolf shifter, Jacob is a rook shifter, and Evie's a vampire."

"Vampire..." Jenny hums. "She isn't too scary. But, what about the other one? Alt-something?"

"Altaïr. We know for sure he's an abnormal, but we don't know if he really is what both his father and adoptive family have said."

"What have they said?"

"That he's part sylph."

Jenny gapes. "How could that even be possible? Nobody even knows if sylphs are actually real or not!"

Haytham shrugs. "Well, we'll find out sooner or later, I suppose."

Jenny hums again. "One more question."

"What's that?"

"If Jacob and Evie are twins, how can one be a shifter and the other a vampire?"

Haytham chuckles quietly. "Good question. Their mother was a vampire and the father is a rook shifter. Shifter and vampire genes don't mix, so since they had a pair of twins, the two genes were separated fairly."

Jenny nods. "Makes sense. Well, anyway. I have to get to work soon, so don't ruin my house, got it? And I have a dog and a cat, by the way. They'll probably wake up soon, so make sure to feed them while I'm gone. Understand?"

Haytham nods. As soon as she's gone, he immediately goes to look at the box again.


	4. Chapter 4

So...here they are. All just sitting at a kitchen table, being all awkward. Jacob, Ezio, and Aveline are hitting it off, but other than them, it's just a really uncomfortable situation. That's when Connor remembers something. He stands up and walks out of the kitchen to search for his grandfather. He finds him petting an Irish Setter with a white cat rubbing against his leg. "Edward?"

Edward looks up. "You need something, lad?"

"Before I started school, I asked you about Shay. You said that I didn't need to worry because you've known him since you were younger than me."

Edward raises an eyebrow. "And...?"

"You're fifty-six and he's twenty-one. How would that work?"

Edward is silent for a minute before he laughs. "I'm sorry, Connor. I meant to say that I've known him since he was younger than you. I knew his father, and I met Shay when he was just a little one. I was the one who told him to trust his instincts. So, thanks to me, he doesn't eat people."

Connor nods. He looks at the dog. "That dog is Jenny's?"

Edward smiles. "Yep. I was looking at the tag and she-" he suddenly looks sad. "Well, she named him after our dog from when she was younger. Thatch. I named my dog that after...after a friend who went missing."

Connor gives him a tiny smile, then walks back into the kitchen.

~~o~~

Everyone's already left the kitchen to explore the house, but Evie and Jacob are still sitting at the table. Evie picks at the tip of a strawberry while Jacob strokes the cat that had jumped up on the table. "Y'know," he says, glancing at Evie. "I don't think Father would approve of you playing with your food."

Evie just shakes her head, forcing out a dry, humorless laugh. Jacob frowns. "What's wrong with you today?"

She shrugs. "Nothing."

Jacob rolls his eyes, scoffing. "'Nothing'. You are forgetting, sister, that I know you well enough to tell if there's actually 'nothing' wrong with you. Right now, I can tell there is obviously something wrong."

"My fangs grew a bit. They hurt my mouth."

"Evie, you can take a little pain. Tell me what's actually bothering you."

She sighs. "Stress."

Jacob snorts. "Stress? I thought that was a foreign concept to you."

"I'm always stressed when I'm around you," she snaps. "But, seriously, Jacob, I'm not joking. How can you not be stressed?"

Jacob frowns again, snatching the strawberry out of her hand. She glares at him. "Jacob!" He starts attempting to stuff it into her mouth, but fails as she just gives him an unamused look. Rolling his eyes, he pinches her arm.

"Ow! Jaco-" Jacob shoves the strawberry in Evie's mouth, giving her a cheeky grin. She glares at him, slapping his shoulder a few times.

"Hey, that hurts!" Jacob whines, slapping her hand away. Evie rolls her eyes, chewing the strawberry a few times before swallowing. Jacob goes back to petting the cat when he remembers something. "Hey, Evie? I've been meaning to ask..." She raises an eyebrow and gestures for him to continue. "Why are you and Aveline so awkward around each other?"

Although she puts on the same expression she always has, Jacob hadn't missed the look of horror that had washed over her face for a split second. "Nothing's..." She pauses. "Nothing's awkward, Jacob."

Jacob pokes her nose. "I know a thing or two about you being awkward, Evie. You stop acting all professional and stern and seem to go out of your way to make _m_ _e_ uncomfortable."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

He scoffs. "Please, Evie. Of course you - _wait!_ Are you _blushing?_ "

"No!" She protests, but the crimson on her cheeks is incredibly obvious.

Jacob stares. "Evie, why are you-"

Evie jumps to her feet and storms out of the kitchen, but Jacob follows after. They both stop in their tracks and stare.

Aveline is sprawled across the couch, giggling and soaked with water. Desmond is standing in the middle of the room, his clothes, oddly, on fire. He doesn't seem to be in pain or catching anything else on fire, so that's good. Altaïr is...on the ceiling, crushed into the corner like he's trying to avoid being hit by something. Connor's hair is a bit messed up, and Ezio...well, he's nowhere to be found.

"What's going on out here?" Evie asks.

A black cat bounds across the room, shouting in Ezio's voice, "WAR!" Cat-Ezio leaps at Evie, slapping his tiny paws at her face. She bares her fangs, hissing, and smacks him to the side, turning invisible.

With a grin, Jacob cries, "CAW-CAW!" And shifts into his rook form.

~~o~~

By the time Jenny comes home, they had all (including Edward and Shay) already been watching a movie marathon. They watch her look around the room, open-mouthed, as she takes in the water and feathers everywhere. She stares at them, sighing. "I don't even want to know."

Shay realizes the time and quickly ushers them along to brush their teeth and change their clothes. While he waits, he lays out all the sleeping bags. He made sure that the boys don't sleep half-naked, because Shay doesn't really like having people around him in only their underwear.

Evie is the first one to come out. Her hair is down and her fangs poking out from under her top lip instead of carefully hidden in her mouth. She curls up in her sleeping bag, and Shay's pretty sure she's already dreaming by the time the others are there. Smiling, he says goodnight and turns off the light. Though the others are already asleep, he hears Altaïr's quiet voice mumble "Goodnight..."

He goes to get Edward for the first shift of watching over the kids and making sure there are no Hunters by the house. Even as Edward paces up and down the halls with his flashlight, singing "Night patrol, on night patrol..." from that one Spongebob episode, they all sleep peacefully.


	5. Chapter 5

Altaïr has another nightmare. Of course he does. Even his normal dreams end up as nightmares. Each one is vivid, replaying the worst of his memories over and over, on a loop.

Sometimes they're of his father. There are two different kinds, of course. One is of his father being brutally bludgeoned by Hunters, screaming in pain as they laugh cruelly. Altaïr at eleven years old, paralyzed in his hiding place, suffocating from terror and panic.

Then the other one is of him finally coming out of his hiding place, crying as Umar, with his last dying breath, had told him to go to his friend Rashid for help. Altaïr hadn't listened to him, of course, and instead ran to his best friend, Malik's house.

Then there's one of him answering the door of the Al-Sayfs' house, far too late at night, when no one else was awake. Ahmad Sofian stood there, tears in his eyes, and whispered, "I'm sorry." Then he cut his throat. Altaïr could only watch with horror as Ahmad, grinning, sank to his knees, blood pouring out of his wound. Altaïr had cried that night, five years ago.

Altaïr wakes up.

He groans as he opens his eyes. His lip throbs painfully. Sometimes this happens when he thinks about his scar. "Ah, Altaïr," Edward says. "You got up just in time." He finishes shaking the others awake, then turns to Altaïr. "We have to leave in a few hours."

He raises his eyebrow. "What? We just got here yesterday."

"Well, this is still too close to the school. No doubt the Hunters are on our tracks."

"Oh," he nods. "Okay, I'll get ready to go."

As soon as he's finished getting ready, he goes and sits on the couch, listening in to other conversations.

"So, who are we going to next?" Haytham asks.

Shay hums, looking at his phone. "Minerva sent out a list of all places that both our group and other groups can go to that haven't already been 'taken'."

"Who's on there?"

"The Vespucci family, the Sartors, um...Achilles Davenport, but maybe no on him, Anne Bonny, Mary Read-"

"Oi!" Edward shouts, from wherever he is. "I know those two!"

Shay chuckles. "My friend Liam, Henry Green, and...Rebecca Crane."

Edward walks out of the hallway. "What about Adéwalé?"

Shay shakes his head. "Sorry, Edward. He's already hosting one of the other groups."

"Hey, Altaïr," Ezio greets. Altaïr just grunts. "It's a great morning so far, isn't it?"

"You could say that."

Ezio frowns. "You know, you're not a very good conversationalist."

Altaïr snorts. "You're too much of one."

"Aw, don't be like that."

He snorts again. That's when a heavy weight comes crashing down on him, knocking him off the couch. "Ow! What was that for?" He glares up at Jacob, who's laughing. Ezio isn't laughing, though he does have a grin on his face.

"Fun," Jacob answers.

Altaïr rolls his eyes, getting to his feet. "Don't do that again." And that's when Jacob sees his hand.

He raises his eyebrow. "What happened to your finger?"

Altaïr turns and leaves the room.

~~o~~

"Jacob," Ezio scolds. "You shouldn't just ask someone why they're missing a finger. Maybe it's a sensitive subject."

Jacob grins. "Oh, come on. You know you were wondering, too."

"Well..." Ezio hesitates. "Admittedly, yes."

"See? It wasn't a big deal. So what if he's mad?"

"Well..."

"Hey, you two," Aveline says, poking her head out from around the corner. She glances around and lowers her voice. "Is he really missing a finger?"

Ezio nods, and Jacob loudly says, "Yes, he is."

Aveline raises her finger to her lips. "Shh. Not so loud."

"Oops," though there's a still a cocky grin on his face. Aveline disappears back into the hallway and Connor comes out a second later.

Ezio fiddles with his necklace, thinking.

If they got here and if they could get to the next house, how far exactly can they go? Ezio doesn't want to be on the run for the rest of his life. He wants to fight. To give the Hunters a taste of their own medicine.

He worries about his mother and father. He worries about Claudia, Federico, and Petruccio. But, they'll be okay. He knows they will.

Right?

"Why are you looking so down?" Jacob asks.

"I'm thinking."

"About what?"

"Things."

"What kind of things?"

"I don't know. Just... _things._ "

"Things."

"Yes."

"Boring things?"

"No."

"A lot of things?"

"Not really."

When Jacob goes back to looking at his phone, Ezio lets his hand drop to his side with a heavy sigh. "I'm bored."

"Me, too," Jacob agrees.

"You know you guys can turn on the TV, right?" Jenny asks as she walks into the kitchen. "I _do_ have cable."

"I call wrestling!" Jacob cries, grabbing the remote. Ezio grabs it at the exact same time.

Giving the other a deadly glare, Ezio growls, "I call Spongebob."

~~o~~

Shay's had worse, but that doesn't make it any less painful. It's a natural part of a kelpie's life to lose all of their teeth and grow them back immediately. It happens yearly, but it also happens irregularly. It always catches Shay when he's least expecting it.

Within the span of just two hours this morning, Shay's lost all of his teeth. As soon as he loses one, its replacement grows back right away. Kelpie teeth don't take a while to grow back. No, it takes less than a second. Which is terrible. The tooth literally bursts through the gums, already at full size. Kelpies don't exactly have _fangs,_ but they still have super sharp teeth.

Shay's mouth is bloody and sore, which is annoying enough, but it makes it way too hard to chew. All he can eat is applesauce, pudding, and yogurt. He doesn't even like any of them.

He sits at the table, emailing back and forth with multiple people at one of the strongholds. He hears someone sit next to him and turns. Edward, grinning, holds up a bag of seaweed.

Shay makes a face. "Edward, you should know by now that I don't like seaweed."

"You come from the ocean," Edward points out. "Why wouldn't you like it? I like it. Aveline likes - well, I don't actually know if she comes from the ocean, but she still likes it."

"I can't even eat it right now."

"Why not?"

"My teeth."

"Oh, right. The weird kelpie teeth thing. What's up with that anyway?"

"I don't know, but I can't-" he stops talking when Edward shoves the seaweed in his mouth. Gagging, he quickly spits it out, making a face as Edward howls with laughter. "That is _disgusting!_ What flavor is that?"

"It's chicken and pepper."

"Gross!"

"Oh, come on, Shay, who doesn't like chicken and pepper?"

"I don't!"

"Well, you have to eat it."

"No, I don't!"

"Yes, you do."

"No, I don't."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Shay!"

"Edward!"

They quickly start arguing, though Edward is smiling the entire time.

~~o~~

"Why are you in my room?"

Haytham spins around. Jenny is standing in the doorway, arms crossed and lips pursed. "I asked you a question, Haytham. Why are you in my room?"

"I..." He searches for words, but fails. Jenny taps her foot impatiently, making a hand gesture for him to go on. He sighs. "The box."

She stares. "You saw it?"

"I did."

"It doesn't mean anything."

Haytham blinks. "What do you mean?"

She narrows her eyes. "Don't think I forgive you. Now get out of my room."

"Jenny-"

"Out, Haytham."

"Jenny-"

" _Out._ "

"Jenny, I just want to-"

"I said _out!_ "

"I just want to talk!" He shouts, probably louder than he should.

"Woah!" Aveline exclaims, looking in. "Are you alright?"

Jenny sighs. "Yes," she says quietly. "Please close the door."

Aveline hesitates for a second, then nods and closes the door. Jenny turns to Haytham. "What do you want to talk about?"

"First of all," he pauses, sighing. "Father."

She snorts. "Even after all these years, he's still such a child."

"It wasn't his fault."

"Wasn't it?" She growls bitterly. "If he had listened to me-"

"He _did_ listen."

She gives him an incredulous look. "You've got to be fucking kidding me, Haytham. He talked to Birch, but he didn't _listen._ "

"Jenny, I'm not here to talk about that. I'm here to talk about you at least trying to get along with him."

"I told you. I don't forgive him and I don't forgive _you._ "

"You don't have to forgive him. Just try to get along with him."

"No."

"Jenny, I know you still care about him."

"What makes you think that?"

"I saw all the birthday cards you never sent."

Jenny stiffens. Her mouth works, but she can't form words. Haytham continues, "You signed them and everything. You even wrote messages on them. Two cards per year, one for me, one for Father. You even kept the letter I sent to you about Connor."

He can see tears in her eyes. Still, he continues, "There was a reason those were in the Sentimental box. Not just those. The candle and CD Father gave you, the bead necklace I made for you, and more," he pauses, chuckling. "Even the ball of gum wrappers I gave to you as a present when you broke your hand."

Jenny laughs, though there's a slight sob in there, too. A few tears roll down her face. "You took so long to find me, though."

"And I'm sorry for that."

"Did you even try?"

He hesitates. "I...Father did."

She looks severely wounded. "You didn't care."

"I'm sorry."

"Get out of my room."

This time, Haytham complies. He walks out silently. Before Jenny shuts her door, he hears her snap, "And be nice to my nephew."

~~o~~

"Right," Shay says. "So, before we go," he holds up a black bag. "I'm passing out weapons. Self-defense weapons, that is," he adds quickly. "Please don't murder anyone."

He opens the bag and takes one of the knives out. "This is a switchblade. It's a bit modified from the original, but it's still one. Just put enough pressure right here, and the blade comes out. Do the same thing to get it back in, too. Super easy. Here."

He passes out the switchblades. Aveline notices Altaïr inspecting his very closely. She leans over to Connor and whispers very quietly, since they're far enough, "Does Altaïr seem a bit...strange to you?"

"Arrogant, maybe," he whispers back. "But not strange."

"Well, not strange, exactly." She taps her chin. "More...confusing. He just seems smarter than he appears, but it's weird because he hasn't given any sign that he is. I just _feel_ like he is." Connor nods and she keeps talking, "And look at his eyes. I've never seen eyes that color before. There's just...something weird about them."

She sighs and shakes her head. "Sorry, I'm just rambling."

"I am used to your 'rambling," Connor says. "It does not bother me."

"Okay, everyone!" Edward calls, standing in the front doorway. "Time to go. We got everyone's bags in the car. Except for yours, Aveline. We couldn't - wait...Oh, yeah. You don't have any."

"I'll just buy new clothes," she says.

"Okay, um...now, Desmond, Altaïr, Ezio, Connor, Evie, and Jacob can sit in the seats, and uh...Aveline, do you feel comfortable sitting in the trunk or do you want to go with Haytham? I mean, you sat in the trunk last time, but..."

"I'll go with Haytham."

"Okay. Everyone in the car!"

~~o~~

Thirty minutes into the drive, Edward turns to Shay. "Where are we going? I forgot to ask."

"Read's."

"Mary! Awesome."

Evie lifts her head slightly, sniffing the air, her pupils dilating. "Is someone's nose bleeding?"

"Mine is," Ezio says warily, wiping his nose with a tissue.

Jacob flicks her cheek. "Don't suck his nose, Evie." Ezio stares.

She glares at her brother. "I have self-control, Jacob."

"Are you forgetting the time you ran into the butcher shop and started gorging on the raw meat because it was all bloody?"

"Jacob-"

"And then you got sick?"

"I was _six years old,_ Jacob," she snaps. "I had no self-control."

"Or when you licked the blood out of my papercuts? That was actually terrifying."

"Again, I was six years old."

Ezio laughs, but immediately stops when Evie glares at him.

"Hey, Altaïr," Desmond starts. "Why are you messing with that thing?"

Altaïr holds up a hand to shut Desmond up, then returns to playing around with the switchblade. Ezio adds, "I don't think you should put that on your wrist." Altaïr ignores him.

Satisfied, he pulls his sleeve up over the switchblade. Making sure that he can't accidentally stab anyone, he flexes his wrist, watching the blade come out from underneath his sleeve. He moves his hand back into regular position and it disappears again. "Hidden blade. This better be useful."

Jacob stares. "How did you do that?"

"My father taught me."

Jacob opens his mouth to respond, but is immediately cut off by Shay's shrill, girly shriek. He abruptly turns down another street, going so fast the car nearly tips over. "What's going on?" Desmond shouts, clinging to Evie's arm and holding on for dear life.

"Hunter car!" Edward responds. "Go as fast as you possibly can, Shay!"

"I can't do that! There are other people!"

"Then get on the damned highway!"

"Fuck..." Shay looks around frantically. "Where do I get on?"

Altaïr points. "There!"

Shay gets on the highway quickly, and the Hunters follow. Edward looks out the window, sighing in relief when he sees Haytham's car in the lane next to them.

Shay quickly changes over to the left lane. "Hold on, guys. We're about to go a hundred and ten miles per hour." The car speeds up, throwing everyone against their seats.

" _Cazzo!_ " Ezio cries.

"How does their car go fast?" Evie shouts. "They're right against our bumper!"

Shay growls. "They're persistent, I'll give them that."

The other car smashes against them suddenly, sending them spinning across the other lanes. "Shit!" Jacob shouts. The car slams against the railing on the side of the highway, a window shattering and glass flying everywhere. Shay shakes it off and starts driving again. The car makes an unpleasant rattling sound as he speeds up again.

That's when Edward furiously says, "Shay, you just got _off_ the highway!"

"What?" Shay slams his fist against the dashboard. "Ugh! I wasn't paying attention!"

"Now we're on a regular street! _And_ Haytham and Aveline are behind the Hunter car!"

"How did the Hunters even find us?" Desmond asks.

"They have these weird devices," Edward snarls. "They glow and they're really weird. I don't know, maybe they tracked us using those. I don't know."

Shay bites his lip. "I'm running this light." Right when the light turns from yellow to red, he speeds through it, the Hunters still following. A few cars honk, but they ignore them. Shay weaves through traffic carefully, having to slow down for safety. Edward notices a black Ferrari speed up, directly next to the Hunters' car.

He stares at the Ferrari for a second, when he sees something familiar: the small picture of a nymph painted on the hood. He gasps. "That's Anne's car!"

Anne drifts slightly into another lane, then comes swerving back, slamming into the Hunters. The two cars go spinning into the grass, and Edward sees them roll into a ditch. "We have to help her!"

Shay nods. He slows way down and puts on his turn signal. Since the road is mostly clear, he cuts across the other lanes, driving into a parking lot. "I've never driven so recklessly before," he mutters. He turns, not even getting the car fully into a parking spot before he gets out. "You guys stay here," he says to the teenagers. "I can see Haytham. I'll wave to him. Don't move."

He and Edward take off. A few seconds later, Haytham's navy blue car pulls into the parking lot. Haytham gets out first, though he immediately runs in the direction Shay and Edward went. Aveline, however, jogs over to the others, something in her hand.

She opens one of the doors and everyone gets out, panting and bleeding slightly. She holds up a bottle of Bactine. "I saw the windows break. I always keep this in my purse, so here." She hands it to Altaïr, then he passes it around.

"Do you think the other people that were on the highway will call the police?" Ezio asks.

Aveline shakes her head. "Definitely not. We were all going way too fast for them to even get a glimpse of our license plates."

Ezio turns and looks in the direction that Shay, Edward, and Haytham went. "How long do you think they'll take?"

\---

There are three Hunters, and Edward races to defend his redheaded friend. Anne dodges a hit from the woman. When the Hunter points a gun at Anne, Edward slaps it out of her hands, taking her by surprise. He slams his fist against her face. While she's stunned, he kicks her in the chest, sending her sprawling across the grass.

Shay is about to join Edward, when he sees a boy, who can't be any older than fifteen, face down in the grass by the destroyed cars. Knowing that the other two can handle themselves, he helps the boy to his feet. He has a bloody gash on his face and has his brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. His shirt is slightly ripped (most likely from the crash), revealing a tattoo on his collarbone.

It's a simple black tattoo with a special number and a symbol that marks what kind of abnormal he is. Shay frowns; the boy was captured. "Are you alright?"

He nods. "I'm fine. Sprained my ankle in the crash. And cut my face," he adds. He looks over to where Anne and Edward - and now Haytham - are fighting. "You're not Hunters, are you?"

Shay shakes his head. "No, we're not. We're abnormals. We help other ones, too." He pauses. "What's your name?"

"Arno."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Shay."

He frowns again and looks around. He hears the wail of police and ambulance sirens, and though it's far away, he knows exactly why they're coming. Edward jogs over. "We have to get out of here! The Hunters are knocked out."

"I can't walk," Arno says.

Edward smiles. "We'll help you."

Shay puts one of Arno's arms around his shoulders, and Edward puts the other around his. Supporting him, they start to climb out of the ditch as fast as they can, with Anne and Haytham following close behind.

Lifting Arno up slightly, they jog across the street, making it into the parking lot just as a police car comes into view. Shay groans when he sees the condition his Honda Pilot is in. "My car got messed up. I gotta fix it."

"Hey, Anne," Edward says. "I forgot to ask where you were going before...you know, your car got totaled."

"Oh, I was on my way to Mary's. I'm moving in with her."

"So, that explains how you happened to be on the same street as us," Haytham says. "Mary is going to be our host for a while."

"Oh, great! Then you can take me there."

"Host...?" Arno asks.

"Well, we're on the run from Hunters," Edward explains. "That's why they were chasing us. I'll get into details later, but right now, we should probably get that cut on your face stitched up. Oh, and Anne, when the police see your license plate, won't they try to contact you?"

She waves her hand. "Don't worry about it. I stole that license plate."

Edward grins. "Awesome." They finally make it over to their little group.


	6. Chapter 6

Mary whistles as Shay pulls into her driveway. "Woah, Cormac. What happened to your car?" She asks when he opens his door.

"Hunters," he grumbles, getting out. "Anne's car got totaled."

"Wait. Anne?"

"Yeah. She's fine, though. She's riding with Haytham and Aveline. They'll be here in a minute. Turns out the Hunters had a boy in their car. His name's Arno. Brought him here. I hope he trusts us."

"Did ya kidnap him or something?"

"Nope!" Edward says cheerfully, joining them. "He came of his own accord. He sprained his ankle anyway. But then again, he could've just told us he didn't want to come and just stayed for the ambulance."

"That Haytham?" Mary asks, pointing at the navy blue van that's turning on to the street.

"Yep."

"What time is it?" Connor asks, climbing out of the car.

"One," Mary answers.

"Thank you."

She smiles. "You're welcome. Well, I'll open the front door for you guys so you can take your bags in."

As soon as she opens the door, a black pug barrels out, snorting as it runs. It immediately jumps at Jacob's leg, apparently attempting to climb up it. Jacob grins.

Mary walks over. "Front and center, Man O' War!" She snaps, pointing at the ground in front of her. The pug stops, cocking its head. "Front and center," she repeats.

The pug snorts and trots over to her. "Man O' War, you behave yourself." He stares for a second, then barks. "Man O' War, don't you dare."

Bark. "Don't you give me that." Bark. She sighs.

"He's cute," Jacob says.

"Come get your bags!" Evie calls from where she's getting her own out of Haytham's car.

"Well, if Man O' War bothers you," Mary says to Jacob, "just say 'front and center' and he'll calm down. Except for now. He's just hyper."

Jacob nods. "Alright!" He turns and heads over to the car to get his things. Mary whistles a specific sort of pattern. Man O' War barks and goes back inside the house. She greets Anne and they both go to help everyone carry their luggage in (aside from Arno and Aveline).

Edward helps Arno to the door. "I think I'm stupid," the boy grumbles. "I just agreed to come here for no reason. I don't even know you."

"We never knew each other at first," Altaïr points out. "We're still getting to know each other."

Once they get inside, Arno sits on the couch and Mary gets him ice to help his ankle. "So," she says. "Your tattoo...means you're half caladrius?" Arno nods. "And you're the fourteenth one found?"

He nods again. Shay comes over. "Hey, Arno? Do you have any home we can take you back to?"

He makes a face. "Well, yes, but...let's not go there, yet."

"Why?"

"It's really complicated."

"That sounds suspicious," Jacob mumbles to Evie.

"You know I _can_ hear you, right?"

"I wasn't trying to be quiet."

"Jacob!" Evie snaps.

"What?"

"Don't be rude!"

"Psh."

"Well, anyway," Arno says. "Like I said, it's really complicated. I'll return there once things are a little less...tense."

"Tense," Ezio repeats.

"Yes."

"Tense."

"That's what I said."

"Tense."

"Why do you keep saying that?"

"How is it tense? Is there some family feud or something?"

"No. How'd you come to that conclusion?"

"Why else would things be tense?"

"Stop interrogating him," Aveline scolds.

"I'm not interrogating him. I'm questioning him."

"That's the same thing, Ezio."

"If you word it differently, it's not necessarily the same thing."

"Not really."

"That's what they want you to believe."

She stares. "'They'?"

"Different subject, but why do you have so many scars on your face?"

"What? You have a scar, too!"

"Yeah, but you have three."

"We all have scars. I mean, Evie doesn't, but that's probably because she's just careful."

"How'd you get your scars?"

"How'd you get _yours?"_

"I asked first, but if you must know, I got a rock thrown at my face. Now, how'd you get yours?"

"Why are you talking about this?" Connor asks.

"Because we can," Ezio says. "Now, Aveline, how'd you get them?"

She opens her mouth to respond, but Haytham cuts her off, "She mauled human traffickers and they fought back."

She looks surprised. "How did you know that?"

"I've seen your files at school." He gives her a judgmental look. "You've got some near-criminal charges on there."

"I shut down an entire trafficking operation, though!"

"You put a guy in a coma," he points out.

"I still did something right, though."

"I never said you didn't. Though, there was also that time your father had to pay a man's hospital bill after you assaulted him."

Aveline looks slightly embarrassed. "He stole my purse and I panicked. I was thirteen, it was already an extra stressful time."

"You hit him repeatedly with an umbrella."

"Well, yes, but-"

"You broke his arm."

"I panicked," she repeats.

"A woman also sued your family after you ruined her car with a hammer."

"It was an accident!" Aveline snaps.

"Those files are confidential, sir," Shay reminds Haytham. "You can't share that."

"They're children, Shay."

Jacob gives him a look. "We're not deaf."

Haytham sighs. "Anyway, Shay, Father, can I talk to you in another room?"

~~o~~

"So, what's on your mind?" Edward asks once they're all in another room.

Haytham sighs again. "Now that we've gotten talking about Aveline's scars, I'm thinking about all of their files. Really, I'm fine with being around them, but can we trust them to be able to be around each other? Altaïr has been seen climbing things all the time and, even with no solid evidence, has been suspected of theft. Ezio starts fights and I don't even know what Connor's done, but he has a scar, so he has to have done _something._ And Jacob and Evie allegedly have a gang."

"Allegedly," Edward points out.

"That's not the point, Father. Anyway, I don't trust that Arno kid either. For all we know, he could be planning to kill us."

"I don't get the murderer or insane vibe from him," Edward says. "I mean, I got both from past people I've met. If they hadn't tried to set my ship on fire, I'd still be wondering about it. But, anyway, Arno just doesn't seem like the type of person who belongs in a mental hospital."

"Even so, we should be cautious."

"I guess..."

Everyone spends the rest of the day peacefully and without any trouble.

~~o~~

The following morning, Connor is the first to wake up. It's six when he does. It's Mary's turn to keep watch for Hunters and she waves at him as he tiptoes around the others, all fast asleep. He slips quietly into the kitchen and gets himself a bowl of cereal, yawning and sitting down at the table.

He stares out the kitchen window as he eats, still waking up fully. Rain is pelting down hard, almost louder than the thunder. The entire house is cold and Connor is pretty sure he can hear water from a flash flood slapping against the side of the house.

"Weather's not so great this morning, huh?" Connor turns at the voice. Edward is standing in the doorway of the kitchen, smiling. "Good morning, lad," he says quietly.

"Good morning, grandfather."

Edward goes to pat his shoulder, but Connor gently slaps his hand away. Edward chuckles, going over to the pantry to grab a few pieces of bread and put them in the toaster. "You know," he says. "To celebrate us making it here alive, I was going to bake a cake, but Mary doesn't have the right ingredients for the recipe I want to do."

Connor swallows another bite of his cereal. "Then let us do a different one."

"Yeah, but I don't know - wait," Edward stares. "Did you say 'us'?"

Connor nods. "Yes. I can help. I know how to."

"Well, that's great! But there aren't any other good recipes."

"Then we can make our own."

"That might end badly."

"My grandmother Oiá:ner has shown me recipes before. We can use one. I remember a few."

"Well, let's give it a go, then!"

Connor looks around at all the ingredients in the pantry, picking out the ones that fit a recipe his grandmother had taught him (plus some extra).

They get right to putting everything in a bowl. Edward tries not to make a face at how much cinnamon Connor adds, and Connor makes sure not to comment on all the chocolate Edward pours in.

Edward pulls out an electric mixer, but Connor stops him, insisting on using a wooden spoon so they don't wake the others. While Connor starts mixing it, Edward tries to get a conversation going. "So, how often did you and your grandma bake?"

"Relatively often."

"That's cool. Um...you know, I met your grandmother, but I never met your mother. What was she like?"

"I do not remember much about her, but she was great." There's an awkward silence for a while, then Connor says, "I'm done mixing."

"What? Already?"

"Yes."

"Wow. You're fast." Edward grabs a rectangular glass pan and greases it before they pour the batter in. Right before they put the cake in the oven, they sprinkle on extra powdered sugar.

"Right," Edward says, checking the clock. "It's almost seven. How long will this take to cook?"

"Forty-five minutes."

"Okay. So..." Edward hums. "I'll set the timer for a bit shorter than that so it doesn't burn. Sound good?"

Connor nods. "That is fine with me."

~~o~~

Jacob wakes up to a very pleasant smell. He sniffs the air for a moment, going into the kitchen. "Good morning," Edward greets from where he's sitting at the table with Connor, frosting a sheet cake.

Jacob's eyes widen. "You baked that?"

"Yep," Edward says cheerfully. "To celebrate us making it here alive."

"That smells so good."

"It is chocolate and cinnamon," Connor says, carefully smoothing out the layer of frosting on the side.

Edward grabs a container of rainbow sprinkles and unscrews the cap, dumping all of the contents on the cake. "Grandfather!" Connor protests.

"Well, it needed color. And look at it! It looks great!"

Jacob hears the kitchen door open and turns to look at his sister as she comes in. Evie puts a hand over her mouth as she yawns, then she sees the cake. "You made that?" She asks.

"They did," Jacob says.

"And once everybody's awake, we all get a slice," Edward cheerfully says.

Evie looks uncertain. "Shouldn't we eat breakfast before we eat that?"

"Yep. Which is why I got you cereal!" Edward slides the bowl across the table.

"Oh. Um, thank you." She picks up the bowl, and Jacob grabs the second one Edward has. One by one, the others start to come in, aside from Arno, though he does end up coming in eventually, still slightly suspicious.

Jacob makes one fatal mistake: getting a spoonful of cereal and splattering it on Evie's face.

" _Jacob!"_

Haytham has to retreat into his room and Shay has to duck under the table to avoid the all-out food war. Mary walks into the kitchen at the wrong moment, getting a face full of scrambled eggs that Ezio had made. "What the hell?"

Arno, standing off to the side and covered in flour, shrugs and says, "I have no idea. I just met you guys."

~~o~~

Cleaning up a kitchen with food thrown everywhere definitely isn't the best thing Desmond's ever done, but it's the respectful thing to do. "Sorry about that, Mary" Edward says, grinning sheepishly as he cleans up the orange juice on the floor.

Desmond hears footsteps upstairs and looks around. Everyone is in the kitchen. Haytham had come back in, Mary and Anne are here, even Man O' War is. He freezes and narrows his eyes, before quietly announcing, "There's someone upstairs."

Everyone goes silent. Mary listens and her eyes widen. "Everyone hide," she whispers, "but don't hide in the same place." She switches the kitchen light off, watching to make sure everyone gets in a good hiding place. Everyone moves quickly, thankfully. Evie and Altaïr both hide under the table, turning invisible. Jacob, finally acting smart, shifts into his rook form and flies into the living room to hide on the fan, out of anyone's line of sight. Ezio shifts, too, but into a mouse, running underneath the cabinets while Connor hides in the pantry with Edward and Aveline. Shay and Haytham race into the living room, hiding good enough that not even Desmond figures out where they went. Mary scoops up Man O' War and races downstairs with Anne, Desmond and Arno following.

Mary and Anne hide in the basement closet, shushing Man O' War when he starts growling. Desmond hides behind the chair in the corner, and Arno shifts into - oh! _That's_ what a caladrius is. It's a bird. Desmond stays still. He hears unfamiliar voices upstairs and tries to stay as quiet as possible. At least ten minutes pass, then footsteps come downstairs. Another five minutes pass, then a man sighs, and says, "They're here somewhere. Let's go outside. We're going to get the others to surround the house. They're not making it out of here safely."

As soon as they're sure the Hunters are out of the house, Mary races upstairs with Anne, Desmond, and Arno to gather the others. They all stay crouching as Mary begins to tell them about tunnels under the house that they can use to escape. "Are we having to leave already?" Ezio asks. "We just got here!"

Mary shakes her head. "We'll find a way to sneak some Hunters away from the others and convince them to leave and _never_ tell anyone our address. We'll run them out of the country if we have to. The others, well," she looks grim, "we'll just have to kill them."

Anne, Haytham, Shay, and Edward all nod solemnly while the others look horrified.

"I'm not sure I'm fine with that," Evie says, slowly.

Shay sighs. "Look, you guys don't have to do that. But, right now, please call your parents. Altaïr, call the Al-Sayfs, and Arno...can I ask what your last name is?"

"Uh, Dorian."

Something like guilt passes over Shay's face, but it disappears quickly. "You're the son of Charles Dorian?"

Arno stares. "Yeah, how did you know?"

"I'll explain later. Anyway, for those of you who can, call your parents and ask 'Why kill?' That's all. Ask that and they'll understand."

Well, things are certainly getting interesting. At least for Desmond.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry it took me so long to post this. I only recently got back to being able to really write. I rewrote this about four or five times. It's shorter than I'd like, but I'm planning on doing a lot more stuff with this story so hopefully some long chapters
> 
> Anyway, I'm happy to be back to this again

Aveline's eyes open slowly, squinting against the harsh light above her. She stretches her fingers, feeling the unfamiliar mattress she's lying on. Her eyes widen and she sits up. She looks around the room, which is clearly in a hospital.

She looks down at the clothes she's in: the same she was wearing when she left the tunnels in Mary Read's house. She swings her feet off of the hospital bed and stands up.

Stretching, she realizes that the door is open. She makes her way to the doorway, noticing 'Hospital for Abnormals' on the wall in the hallway. She steps out of the room, looking around cautiously. She can hear the chatter of nurses and doctors somewhere else. Slowly and carefully walking down the hallway, she peeks inside one of the other rooms. There's a sleeping girl with bright red hair. There's sweat running down her face despite the fact that the walls in her room are icing over.

Aveline takes a step back, hit by the cold air from the room, and flinches when she hears a girl say, "Don't wake her."

Aveline turns around, seeing a girl with brown hair standing in the doorway of one of the rooms behind her. She tilts her head. "Do I know you?"

"I think I recognize you," the girl says. "I think you were called to go with my brother in a group. Back at the school."

Aveline notices the girl's Italian accent. "Are you talking about Ezio?"

"Yes. I'm Claudia."

Aveline looks back into the room. "Why's her room getting so icy?"

Claudia shrugs. "I'm not sure."

Aveline looks at all the warm colors Claudia's wearing. She prefers colder colors but doesn't comment. She blushes with embarrassment when she hears her stomach grumble.

"Hungry?" Claudia asks. "We could get breakfast."

Aveline shakes her head. "No," she says. "No, not yet. I want to find the rest of my group first."

"Well, I need to find my brother," Claudia says. "I'll go with you."

Aveline gives her a grateful look and sets off. She walks down to the left end of the hall first, peeking in all the rooms. Claudia taps her shoulder and gives her a small notebook. "You should write their names down and check them off when you find them so you don't lose track."

Aveline nods. "Good idea," she says, writing their names down. They then turn around to walk to the right end. Claudia stops when she looks in one room.

" _Grazie a Dio_ ," she says, sounding relieved. "Petruccio is okay." She turns back to Aveline. "Let's find your group."

They move onto another hall, but no luck there either.

"What if they're not here?" Aveline says.

Claudia shakes her head. "I'm sure they are."

Aveline nods. They move to a third hall. Like the other two halls, it's completely empty. But this time, there's actually one person. There's a girl in a white shirt standing with her back against the wall, blond hair pulled back into a bun. She's typing something on her phone. She glances up at Aveline and Claudia when they enter the hall, but quickly returns to her phone.

Claudia stops. "Excuse me," she says. The girl looks up. "Do you know the names of any patients here?"

She shakes her head, giving them an apologetic look. "I'm sorry. I don't know who's here."

"Thank you anyway."

Aveline is just about to give up when she looks through a door and sees Anne, passed out but okay. She crosses out her name and writes down the room number.

She's about to move on when her stomach grumbles again and she gets a sharp hunger pain. She turns to Claudia. "We should eat."

Claudia nods. "The cafeteria's over this way."

Aveline trails after Claudia. "You've already gone to the cafeteria?"

Claudia nods. "Went this morning. At about five."

When they make it to the cafeteria, Aveline looks around. Her eyes widen. "That's Connor and Evie."

She heads over to their table with Claudia. Evie and Connor look up. "Oh," Evie says. "You're okay."

"And you are too," Aveline smiles. She and Claudia go to grab their food. Once they've paid, they go back to Evie and Connor. She sits next to them and Claudia sits across, looking mildly uncomfortable.

Connor is quiet, reading a book while taking small bites of his French toast. Claudia just awkwardly plays with her hair with her hand that's not holding a breakfast roll.

Aveline turns to Evie. "Sorry about when I ran into you," she holds back laughter. "That was awkward."

Evie wipes cherry sauce and pie crumbs off her face. "It's fine," she says. She wets a napkin with her water and wipes the red stains off her fangs. "It's stupid that we were avoiding each other for that."

"You were avoiding each other," Connor says slowly, "because you ran into each other?"

"And accidentally kissed," Aveline adds, prompting Claudia to laugh.

Evie looks at Aveline's food. "What the hell is that?"

"Cranberry salad."

She makes a face.

Aveline jumps when she hears, "You're alright!" She turns around to see Edward.

Connor smiles. Edward sits down. "What happened?"

Claudia shrugs.

A man clears his throat. The five at the table turn to him. He's clearly a nurse. He smiles. "Excuse me, I have something very important to tell you and your group. If you'd please follow me."

They throw away the scraps of their food and follow him. He leads them to a large room. The rest of their group are there, along with a few other people (including the girl with red hair) having only just woken up.

Minerva is standing there.

Once everyone's there, she sighs. "I have something very important to say."

There's a tense silence.

"Whether we're in a hospital, underground, somewhere perfectly incognito, or whatever else," she shakes her head.

"Now we can _never_ be safe."


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, it's been a long time. I'm sorry for taking so long to get this done. My muse just kind of died for a while. But I'm excited to get back to working on this!
> 
> Anyway, we break away from the central group for this chapter.

"Don't screw this up."

She turns to the man, giving him a hard glare. "Do you think I will?" She asks, voice cold.

He laughs. "You're still a child. I would never assume you'd do well."

She bristles, eyes flashing. With gritted teeth, she spits, "I am not a child!"

Another laugh. "Yes, you are." She starts to protest, but he cuts her off. "We don't have time to argue. Get going. Again, don't screw it up."

With a sneer on her face, Maria spins on her heel, marching away.

 

~

 

 _Ripples spread across the surface of the water, clouded with red. The acrid scent of a corpse drifts through the air._  
_-_  
_A woman with silky hair and a venomous grin stands in the middle of a softly-lit room. She croons at the baby in her arms, her hands covered in drying blood._  
_-_  
_A scream cuts through the silence of the night. Police sirens wail in the distance, chasing after the sound of gunshots. With one final glance at the house, the memories he's leaving behind, he drives away. He won't return._  
-  
_The knife slices through his friend's throat. With a gurgle, weak knees crumple, blood spurting from between lips twisted in pain._

_What a horrible way to end a wedding._  
_-_  
_"Have more faith in her."_

" _I can't."_  
_-_  
_"Be fast. Time is of the essence."_

_"I can't promise he'll be amenable."_

_The man smiles sadly. "Who can?"_

Kadar is pulled from his thoughts at the sound of his brother snapping his name. "Yes?"

Malik sighs. "Kadar, I had to say your name three times."

"Oh." He shuffles his feet, sheepish. "Sorry. I was just...thinking."

There's a crash from the other room, followed by an exasperated voice. Malik's eyes narrow and he stalks out of the room to see what trouble the group they're hosting has caused this time.

Kadar moves away from the wall he's painting in the empty room, peeking out the window, looking down. He observes a small group walking by the house and shifts uneasily. He's not completely sure why; there's nothing wrong with going for a walk.

Reluctantly, he moves away, uncertainty swirling in his stomach. He glances at the window again and then returns to painting the wall.  
He plays music while he paints, though he can't quite distract himself from his growing apprehension.

 

~

 

She kicks a rock, sending it across the sand before she makes her way to the woman standing on the shoreline. The sharp smell of saltwater hits her.

"Miss Hope Jensen?" The voice is cunningly sweet.

Hope maintains a nonchalant air. "Yes, that's me."

The woman breaks into a fanged grin. "I am here on behalf of our esteemed Councilman, Reginald Birch. He sends you his most gracious hellos."

"What did you want to discuss?" Hope asks carefully. "I thought your kind despised land-dwellers unless you're having us for lunch."

The kelpie's smile falls for a moment, before she laughs. "You are a smart one, Miss Jensen." Her smile seems more strained now, her eyes glinting. "We understand that you have a personal connection to Shay Patrick Cormac. Is this true?"

Hope sets her mouth in a hard line. She's silent for a good minute before she nods. "Yes, I know him."

The kelpie claps her hands together. "Wonderful! Are you aware of his whereabouts?"

"No, sorry."

The woman frowns, sharp teeth peeking from beneath her top lip as she stares in confusion.

Finally, the kelpie perks up again, showing off another wide grin - and Hope is sure she sees a trace of flesh in the other's teeth.

"Will you be able to track him?"

Her eyes narrow in suspicion. "Why?"

"Personal matters, Miss Jensen."

Hope hums, tapping her foot. "No."

The kelpie is silent for a long minute. "Excuse me?"

"You're asking me to send him back to bad memories. I won't do that."

An eye roll. "Fine. Will you least take a message?"

"Maybe. What's the message?"

 

~

 

She takes a large bite of her bagel, sinking further into the couch. "Well-"

" _Oh, gross. Please don't eat over the phone, R_ ebecca."

Rebecca snorts. "Relax, Shaun. I'm almost done."

_"That's terrible manners."_

"Anyway, as I was saying. It was okay, I guess. Not the best."

" _Incredibly historically inaccurate."_

"Yeah, I noticed. Anyway, I have my drivers' test on Friday."

" _Oh? Again?"_

She makes an affronted noise. "I'll get it this time!"

" _Oh, I'm sure."_

"Now you listen - " her reply is cut short by pounding on the front door.

" _Are you still there?"_

There's a shout of _open the door now!_  as the pounding becomes more aggressive.

" _Rebecca?"_

Dropping her bagel, she hurries towards the back door following another shout of  _get out here, abnormal!_

"Fuck." Pressing hold and slipping her phone into her pocket, she hurriedly grabs the keys to her mother's car. Behind her the wood begins to splinter. "Shitshitshit."

Throwing the back door open, she makes a run for it. She barely manages to pull herself over the fence, landing on her face. With a small groan, she scrambles to her feet and makes a desperate run towards her mother's car at the end of the street, - left behind when her family went out of town - narrowly avoiding the sight of one of the Hunters.

She fumbles with the keys as she makes it to the car, unlocking it and jumping inside, locking it once more. Not caring for a second about her lack of a license, she puts the keys in the ignition and hurriedly buckles her seatbelt.

Pulling out her phone, she opens a group chat with her family, sending them a text warning them not to come home. Taking the call off hold, she speeds away.

 _"Rebecca?!"_  Comes Shaun's concerned voice.

"Shaun, I'm having a problem."

 

~

 

Claudia watches with fascination as Sofia carefully manipulates the layer of frost on the window, forming elegant swirls and snowflake patterns with fluid movements of her hand.

"That's amazing," Claudia says.

Sofia beams. Pressing her hands together, she slowly separates them, strings of ice between them. She moves her fingers carefully, weaving until she's formed a braid of ice.

The brunette laughs. "Like I said; amazing."

"Thank you!"

Claudia pats the girl's arm - pale and cold - before reaching into her bag. "Want a protein bar?"

 

~

 

Rosa slips the money into her pocket, hurrying her pace and wiping raindrops from her eyes. Thunder rumbles in the distance, sky thick with grey clouds. She risks another quick glance behind her, adjusting her coat, eyes narrowing as the car prepares to turn the corner, the driver waiting for others to pass.

Trying to look as casual as possible, she jogs around the next corner, slipping into a small café. She tucks herself into a far corner so as to not be noticed by employees, adjusting her hat and grumbling under her breath.

_Damn Hunters._

Her small table is next to one with two bickering people and she finds herself inadvertently listening in.

"You drive me crazy, Roussillon," the woman says.

What kind of name is  _that?_

With a huff, Rosa takes her phone out of her pocket, pulling up Ugo's contact and sending him a quick text so that he doesn't think she's dead.

"Come on!" The man - Roussillon, apparently (Rosa tries not to snort), says. "You love my jokes."

"Oh, please."

"And I thought we were friends!"

Rosa glances up as she sees an employee pass by a few minutes later. Not wanting to rouse suspicion, she gets to her feet, slipping her phone back into her pocket, and leaves the café unnoticed. After confirming that the car is nowhere to be seen, she starts walking again.

Carefully making her way down a route she doesn't normally use, she continues to glance around warily. The rain intensifies, pelting down from the sky. Making a face, she pulls her hood over her head and curses under her breath.

She keeps scanning the streets for Hunters as she makes her way home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry again for taking so long! Anyway, if y'all see anything about my writing you think I need to improve, please let me know! I want this to be enjoyable.


End file.
